Employee communication is essential to creating a positive and productive working environment. If your work environment does not stress the importance of healthy communication, employees may feel unhappy or unheard, resulting in potential turnover.
Not only is it important for employees to feel valued by an organization, it is also vital for them to understand how their professional goals fit into the larger picture of the company. Communication does more than just benefit the employee; it boosts workplace morale and productivity.
Here are four ways to immediately help increase employee communication:
Encourage Sharing and Discussion
Employees will feel more comfortable expressing themselves if they believe that their workplace is a safe environment to speak their minds. If the work atmosphere is filled with hostility, many will believe that they cannot speak up without fear of punishment.
Encouraging communication between different layers of employees gives everyone a sense that they are a part of a larger objective. Additionally, encouraging employee communication between different internal teams increases productivity by avoiding mishaps due to a lack of collaboration.
Cross team communication improves employee engagement. Now, employees understand what others do, and how everyone fits in the bigger picture.
Listen and Be Heard
Employees want to feel heard, but this is not possible without knowing how to listen and take in new information. Managers and higher ups should take into account opinions that do not align with their own. Employees will be more engaged if they believe their ideas are validated.
Do more: Improve Your Worker Relations with the Employee Reengagement Worksheet
An effective communication strategy will include ways to collect feedback. Embed quick surveys in your main employee communication channels to collect ideas without interrupting your overall message.
Set Recurring Meetings
People lose track of time when they are caught up in the daily grind. It’s important to schedule regular meetings with employees to ensure that they are staying on top of their work and also to give them the opportunity to raise any concerns that they may have.
While a face to face meeting may not be possible in today’s environment, meetings of any kind still serve to bring a human element to workplace communication. Additionally, making it recurring builds consistency and routine, allowing employees to get into the habit of receiving and providing effective feedback.
Use the Right Tools
Finally, use all the help you can get in regards to communication tools. Technology has allowed for useful solutions that can help boost communication and productivity among employers and employees. In fact, each of the previous tips can all be aided with the use of communication technology.
Some options include emails or instant messaging. But the perfect HR solution will provide all employee related tools into one platform. This allows employees to share, collaborate, and access employer resources.
Effective communication tools empower employees to do their best work by giving them easy access to the information they need. A platform that combines all these tips and more is a surefire way of improving your employee communication strategy.
